The best camera is the one you have with you, so I carry a very nice point-and-shoot everywhere. Nothing else has been good enough. But the iPhone 4 is. More »
Whatever the reason HTC instituted that 30fps cap on the EVO’s graphical output, the issue has just been remedied by — surprise, surprise — coders over at xda-developers. We’ve come across video evidence of the EVO 4G rolling along at a swift 54fps average clip, and another motion picture reel shows the positive effect this has had on the touch-tracking of the handset. Check them both out after the break and hit the source to get educated on how to make this happen on your own EVO. You should be warned that there are still some issues to resolve before the whole thing’s buttery smooth, but hey, it’s still a lot better than waiting for HTC to do it.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading EVO 4G loses 30fps limit thanks to devoted community (video)
EVO 4G loses 30fps limit thanks to devoted community (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In an open letter three months ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs challenged Adobe to ship its Flash software on any mobile device and prove it worked well.
Adobe, now, has an answer. The company has released Flash Player 10.1 to its mobile partners and the technology should be in the hands of Android phone users with the upcoming Android 2.2 ‘Froyo’ update to the operating system.
Flash Player 10.1 will be available as a “final production release” for smart phones and tablets, once users are able to upgrade to Android 2.2, says Adobe.
Among the devices that will get Froyo and Flash Player 10.1 are the Dell Streak, Google Nexus One, HTC Evo, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, Motorola Droid, Motorola Milestone and Samsung Galaxy S. Google hasn’t said yet exactly when Android 2.2 will be available to users, though it is expected in the next few weeks.
Adobe says Flash Player 10.1 will also be available in devices using BlackBerry, webOS, future versions of Windows Phone, MeeGo and Symbian operating systems.
If major Android phones get Flash capability it will be a push back against Apple’s efforts to turn public opinion against Flash on mobile devices.
With the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, Apple declared war against mobile Flash. Apple is supporting HTML5 and its efforts have influenced the online video landscape significantly. Many major websites are starting to use HTML5, and video players such as Brightcove are serving up HTML5 videos for devices not compliant with Flash. Separately, Apple has worked with companies like YouTube to produce iPhone-compatible versions of their sites.
“We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it,” wrote Jobs in a note posted on the Apple website in April. “Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?”
But many developers are not convinced. Adobe’s Flash standard is still widely used on the internet, for everything from animated banner ads and splash screens to infographics, educational content and games. Much of that content has been unavailable on mobile devices: The previous version of Adobe’s mobile Flash player, Flash Lite, supported only basic Flash content, such as video.
Gadget Lab’s first look at a Flash Player 10.1 beta showed that Flash on the mobile phone can be fun, unlocking sites that otherwise would be inaccessible. But it’s not a flawless experience. On a Nexus One, Flash content — especially video — took time to load, which was frustrating. And it sucks bandwidth.
Still, for Adobe, it’s a big step toward making Flash a contender in mobile multimedia.
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Photo: Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One phone (Keith Axline/Wired.com)
It’s happened before, and it’s happening again: the EVO 4G’s getting hard to find. We’re sure you’d be able to track it down locally, but the option that requires the least dreadful physical movement — ordering online — isn’t an option for now, with Sprint saying “this device is so hot we can’t keep it on our virtual shelves.” We imagine the situation will clear itself up shortly, but it makes you wonder — could the screen separation fix on the assembly line be the culprit behind the shortage?
[Thanks, James]
HTC EVO 4G sold out online once again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Consider this: you may have an Android phone with a front-facing camera, and so do your distant loved ones (yes, friends count too). Now slap that free IM app Fring onto your phone, and the once-dormant chat camera shall finally come to life — right now only the Streak and EVO 4G are supported, whereas the others (like the X10) will have to rely on their main cameras. Still, Fring also supports dual-camera Symbian devices plus Skype video calls to and from computers, and since it isn’t locked down to any particular connection method, users with unlimited data allowance get to make free 3G video calls! Take that, FaceTime. Read on to watch our very own transatlantic banter.
3G video call on Fring for Android: bringing HTC EVO 4G and Dell Streak together (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 16:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’ve just been tipped off on a couple feel-good items for EVO 4G owners that should end your Friday on a bright note:
See? Told you it was feel-good news. More on this stuff as we get it.
HTC has fix in the works for EVO 4G screen sensitivity; separation problems are minor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! Just when you thought America’s first 4G phone couldn’t get any hotter, along comes this: a striking white version of the HTC EVO 4G (so much for that unavailable white iPhone 4, eh?). We’ve received confirmation that this here handset will be sold exclusively through Best Buy (as in, don’t even bother heading to your local Sprint store), with the official launch date set for July 11th. We’re told that Sprint will eventually gain access on August 8th, with other retailers snapping it up in September. If you somehow managed to hold off on snagging the existing black EVO 4G, you can get your pre-order in starting on June 18th — yeah, today, Junior! We’re assuming the price will remain at $199.99 on a 2-year contract, but be sure to drop us a line if you wander in and find out otherwise.
Update: And it’s official; the presser is after the break confirming the same $199.99-on-a-2-year-contract price as well as the dates mentioned already.
Update 2: Turns out this thing was around way back at Google I/O! Head on past the break and mash play — that’s definitely a white-backed EVO 4G on stage. Thanks, Omar!
[Thanks, Anonymous]
White HTC EVO 4G coming exclusively to Best Buy on July 11th, pre-orders start today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 10:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We’d figured that Sprint and partner Clearwire were going to have a devil of a time rolling out WiMAX this year in New York City; urban canyons are always tricky, of course, but their oddball 2500MHz spectrum allocation isn’t the best at penetrating buildings and other structures, either. On that note, we’d been tipped earlier this week that a reader was seeing some weak WiMAX reception for the first time on his EVO 4G near Coney Island (see a shot after the break), and now, we’ve been able to independently confirm it on one of our own units — in saturated Midtown, no less — though we weren’t able to do much with it beyond get a notification that a “4G network is available.” Clearly this isn’t ready for primetime use, but it’s a good sign that these guys have officially started lighting up a few cells here and there. 1080p streaming, anyone?
[Thanks, r0ckstar_23]
Update: We’re getting tipped that folks are seeing some occasional 4G action in LA and San Francisco, so keep a close eye on those EVOs!
Continue reading Sprint’s WiMAX service teases EVO 4G-toting New Yorkers (update: LA and SF, too)
Sprint’s WiMAX service teases EVO 4G-toting New Yorkers (update: LA and SF, too) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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With root obtained for the EVO 4G, it was just a matter of time before the overclocking hilarity ensued — and as it turns out, that Snapdragon core was ready and waiting to fulfill your wildest desires. The root-only SetCPU app is in full effect on the EVO, churning out speeds of well over 1.2GHz — apparently with no effect on stability, though it’ll require a bump in voltage. The change results in a linpack improvement of over 25 percent, over 8.8 MFLOPS all told, which means your processor is finally worthy of the speedy 4G radio. Now let’s get cracking on that 3,000mAh battery, alright? Follow the break for video.
[Thanks, Mike]
Continue reading HTC EVO 4G safely overclocked past 1.2GHz, battery begs for mercy
HTC EVO 4G safely overclocked past 1.2GHz, battery begs for mercy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The HTC Evo’s 1-GHz processor is one of the fastest in smartphones today, but there’s always room for improvement.
An Android developer at the xda-developers forum has overclocked his Evo 4G phone to run at 1.267 GHz, nearly 30 percent faster than the standard issue. The developer Michael Huang, who posted the hack under the nickname ‘coolbho3000′, says he’ll try and push the processor to do even more.
“Right now, it’s a proof of concept,” Huang told Wired.com. “I built a version of the kernel that’s running on the phone to overclock it and found it worked fine.”
The hack is pretty technical but the idea is to let advanced Android users and programmers see the potential of the device.
HTC introduced the Evo earlier this month as the first 4G Android phone. The Evo, available exclusively on Sprint, has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract.
The phone has become the bestselling device on the Sprint network and at Best Buy Mobile.
Overclocking the HTC Evo is not the first such attempt developers have made with an Android device. Earlier, Huang says he has tried to overclock the Google Nexus One, which has the same 1-GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the HTC. But that hack pushed the speed of the processor to only about 1.1 GHz.
The HTC Evo overclocking has resulted in speeds of a little more than 1.2 GHz for most users on the forum who have tried it.
But, a few words of warning for those who might attempt this at home: It isn’t a DIY project for just anyone. The files necessary to overclock the HTC Evo are posted online but you need to know what you are doing with it.
“If you have a rooted phone, you can get an update.zip file to apply to that phone,” explains Huang. “What I have done is packaged the special overclocked kernel into the file.” Huang used an Android app called SetCPU available in the Android Market to adjust the overclock.
Huang says he doesn’t have access to the full source code of the HTC Evo OS, which has limited some functions in the phone.
That means the sensors and camera on the phone do not currently work with the hack.
The overclocking also affects the phone’s battery life — despite Huang’s attempt to tweak the voltage piped to the processor.
“If you put less voltage on the processor, then the phone will use less battery, so my Evo kernel is running at a lower voltage than normal,” he says. “But because the processor is at a higher speed, the battery life is lower than usual.”
Once the overclocked device gets running, it also heats up a fair bit, say commenters on the forum. So, try this one at your own peril.
If you don’t want to go through all that, just enjoy the video of the overclocked HTC Evo.
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Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
[via Android Guys]
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